No cheap way to dispose of tube lights

Talk to us

Have a consumer question you'd like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send e-mail to david.bruce@timesnews.com or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.

A nice lady from Girard called me last week with a problem.

One of her fluorescent tube lights went out and had to be replaced. That wasn't the problem.

She didn't know what to do with the burned-out tube.

Pennsylvania, like most states, doesn't permit you to put florescent light bulbs in the trash because they contain small amounts of mercury -- a toxic substance, particularly for pregnant women and small children.

So the woman called Waste Management, Lake View Landfill, Lowe's and Lincoln Recycling, only to find they all either don't accept fluorescent tubes or only accept them in large numbers.

She then called Erie County's Recycling Convenience Center and was told they would accept her old fluorescent tube, for $20. The center's next recycling event is Feb. 16, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 1624 Filmore Ave.

Twenty dollars is the minimum amount the center charges an individual to recycle up to 100 pounds of material.

"I know it could seem like a lot of money, but to make the program sustainable, we had to charge a flat fee for the first 100 pounds," said Don Blakesley, the county's recycling coordinator.

Blakesley recommended the lady, who asked that her name not be published, combine recyclables with her friends, neighbors or family to share the cost.

Do not put the tubes in the trash, Blakesley said.

"If they break, then mercury vapor is released into the air," Blakesley said.

Newer fluorescent tubes contain about 12 milligrams of mercury, less than one-third the amount found in tubes made in the 1980s and earlier.

Still, there is enough mercury in them to warrant a special cleaning procedure should you break one in your house.

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends you open windows and doors, have all people and pets leave the room for five to 10 minutes, and place the broken tube pieces in a sealable container.

And don't use a vacuum cleaner. Small amounts of mercury will remain in the machine.

Most people who use fluorescent tube lights store the used ones in a box, until they have enough to recycle them, Blakesley said.

"I have six, seven or eight burned-out tubes sitting in their original containers right now," Blakesley said.

Talk to us

Have a consumer question you'd like us to help you with? Call David Bruce at 870-1736, send e-mail to david.bruce@timesnews.com or send mail to 205 W. 12th St., Erie, PA 16534.